My Hero Academia has always been very elegant with its exploration of the fine line that can exist between hero and villain, but that’s never been more apparent than after the events of this bifurcated season. Season five of My Hero Academia heads into this finale with newfound empathy and anxiety. The tension that exists between the Pro Heroes Association and the League of Villains Paranormal Liberation Front is rejuvenated in a way that it hasn’t been in years. Now that the audience is properly invested in both sides of this looming war, “The High, Deep Blue Sky” takes a second to set the stage for season six.
“The High, Deep Blue Sky” isn’t without its charms, but it feels more like an epilogue to the events of this season or a prologue that should have kicked off next year’s chaos. It plays like more of an afterthought–albeit a pleasant one–and that the real finale was last week’s penultimate installment. This finale marks My Hero Academia’s long-awaited return to the heroes and this is an episode that’s very much interested in showing all of these characters at their best. There’s a lack of substance to this reunion and a lot of “The High, Deep Blue Sky” feels like a glorified Quirk showcase, but it comes from such a passionate place that’s clearly in love with these characters.
While this season’s finale is far from the strongest episode in the series run, it manages to avoid being the hollow setup for the coming season it nearly lands as. Though not by as much as I’d like. But as we all know, endings can be tough. With the bulk of the episode split between reiterating how much power Shigaraki has come to wield and giving the audience a glimpse of the progress the students of Class 1-A made off-camera this season, much of My Hero Academia Episode 113 lands with little real impact. Happily, the series does manage to work in a couple of scenes that allow the episode to be a bit more than just a setup story. The most notable of these moments are between All-Might and Aizawa.
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With five seasons now complete, it’s easy to forget that everything that has transpired throughout the series has happened in roughly a year and a half. This includes the massive shift in All-Might’s role in the superhero community. A moment is taken in My Hero Academia Episode 113 to explore just how hard the loss of One-For-All has been on the former number one hero and his struggle to accept his new role as a mentor rather than front line leader. His interactions with Aizawa in this moment are captured beautifully. While the casualness of the moment may feel in contradiction to the depths the conversation takes, it nonetheless feels genuine in its portrayal of the emotions being shared between the two comrades. Just as Aizawa has always provided a supportive and insightful shoulder to lean on for his students, he does so again for the former number one here.
Outside of this touching moment of growth, My Hero Academia Episode 113 doesn’t bring a whole lot to talk about. It does a suitable job both wrapping up what the season as a whole brought to the show’s narrative while also setting up what is to come in the next season. There are some fun moments as we see the personalities of Class 1-A mingle and catch up with each other one last time before the season end that gives a bit of energy to the proceedings.
This finale achieves the right blend of subdued and tense after a lengthy span of action-based episodes. “The High, Deep Blue Sky” operates like a more relaxed entry with the bulk of it taking places within U.A. High’s dormitories and places that are associated with safety. However, these heroes aren’t oblivious to the danger that’s been brewing all season and it begins to become their priority, yet these actions are taken right on the cusp of the strength and support that’s been found by the newly formed Paranormal Liberation Front. The heroes are finally ready to confront all of this and My Hero Academia carefully hints that the scales are unbalanced and the villains have unprecedented power–and even stronger convictions–that drive them forward.
My Hero Academia can be guilty of the typical repetitive pitfalls that most shonen series experience, but this latest season really benefits from its unconventional approach, especially now that it’s finished. The first half is dominated by a playful showcase of Class 1-A and 1-B’s best, while the latter half becomes an emotional look into the series’ villains, with some rewarding character development for Endeavor happening in between.
There are times where this feels slightly disjointed or unbalanced, but in the moment it’s always satisfying and the bigger picture that it culminates in as this season wraps up is incredibly powerful. My Hero Academia has taken some of its biggest risks this season and it’s led to a fascinating season of television that sets up season six to reach even more explosive heights.
SEASON 6 ANNOUNCED
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